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At the epicenter of scandals in Russian ice dancing lately he is Valery Angelopol. Why Olympic champion Natalya Linichuk refused to train him, what is the problem of the charismatic goofball, and does he have a way to overcome his inner demons — in the material Sports.
Is it a pity to lose him?
The following joke was popular among children of the 90s: “Koschei the Deathless got hit by a KAMAZ, then hanged himself, shot himself, drowned himself, in general, had fun as he wanted.” Over the past couple of seasons in figure skating, it seems that this joke is about Valery Angelopol. He either drowns his career, or buries himself with words and deeds, or is going to resurrect, but at the decisive moment confuses living and dead water.
So, in two years, from the leader of promising dance youth who were about to break out in the adult national team, Valery turned into a headache for coaches, parents, and even his own migraine. And one more thing — one of the main regrets of the public: how can one waste the best years in sports so recklessly and uselessly.
But is Angelopol really that good that we regret losing him? He is bright and talented, on the ice he becomes a magnet for the audience's attention. But coaches say that without hard work, talent ceases to be worth anything, and charisma without a critical look at oneself becomes too heavy a crown.
In general, it is impossible to put an equal sign between charisma, professionalism and a successful future.
That is, of course: the charisma of a partner in ice dancing is very important, but it alone is not enough. And sometimes it even does harm, forcing the athlete to think not about the business, but about himself. Interfering with the physical and creative routine, from the alloy of which all the gold medals in the world are cast.
Stop! Don’t take all the saints out of the national team just yet
In the person of Natalya Linichuk at the Evgeni Plushenko Academy, Angelopol, after all the misadventures and public whips, got a chance: if you combine her ambitions after returning to Russia with his aplomb, multiply her great experience with his willingness to give all of himself training, add to this a partner who is just as hungry for recognition, it would be possible to take all the saints out of the team.
But Valery did not work out with professional self-sacrifice. Not even that — he categorically does not want to take his work even the slightest bit seriously. This is precisely what Linichuk named as the root cause for the termination of their cooperation in a conversation with Sport:
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"I will no longer work with Valery. I don’t participate in scandals and cheap circuses; if you’re worth something, prove it in training and competitions.
In my many years of work experience, I have never encountered a phenomenon where one can become a leader without work, sweat, perseverance and daily training. On this basis, we had disagreements with Valery, because he did everything to become such a phenomenon.
Trying to cope with this problem, we held negotiations with Evgeniy Viktorovich and Yana Alexandrovna. I found a way out — I suggested that Valery work with a psychologist on an ongoing basis. But he rejected this offer, unfortunately. I wish Valery good luck and peace of mind.»
From all the events that happened to Angelopol during his career, from all the words that his acquaintances say about him, as well as from everything that he himself says and does, one gets the feeling that Valera, in principle, is not very interested in figure skating. And if this is so, no coach, no partner and no money will force his restless nature to train seriously.
It’s as if he continues to skate for many years by inertia, because he once found himself on the ice and felt that he liked the bonuses of this environment, and the rest can be tolerated. But adult sport is not at all children’s or even junior sport, no matter how mockingly simple it may sound. With patience alone, without love and calling, this barge cannot be pulled through. Adult sports accept only disciplined, purposeful people who are able to put off all worldly goods for later for the sake of a barely noticeable goal.
Considering that this time (after Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Arina Ushakova) he failed to get on board even with the very loyal and suitable Alexandra Shinkarenko, it’s hard to believe that the problem could be with his partner. It’s just that Valera’s head is busy with any kind of self-destruction, as long as it’s not figure skating. And he, perhaps, instead of a new or old partner, a new or old coach, just needs an ambulance. Human and psychological.
But no one can be helped if, instead of taking a step towards them, they jump on the bandwagon of the fast train and leave for the Dno station. Come back from there, Valera.